News

The National Hockey League today announced the 2010-11 NHL All-Rookie Team, including the three players named as finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the League's top rookie: forwards Logan Couture of the San Jose Sharks, Michael Grabner of the New York Islanders and Jeff Skinner of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Also named to the All-Rookie Team are goaltender Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks and defensemen John Carlson of the Washington Capitals and P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens.

Voting was conducted by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association at the end of the regular season. Following is a summary of each NHL All-Rookie Team member's outstanding season:

GOALTENDER Corey Crawford, Chicago BlackhawksCrawford's season got rolling with a streak of eight consecutive decisions without a loss (7-0-1) from Nov. 14 through Dec. 11. He compiled a 176:09 shutout streak from Jan. 7-15, the longest by a Blackhawks netminder since Tony Esposito from Jan. 16-30, 1972. He tied Blackhawks rookie record with eight straight wins from Feb. 20 - Mar. 5 and earned his 30th win of the season on March 28 at Detroit, becoming the second Blackhawks goaltender to reach the milestone since 1994.

DEFENSEMEN (in alphabetical order)
John Carlson, Washington CapitalsCarlson stepped up to a top shutdown role on the Capitals blueline in 2010-11. He logged the most ice time of any Capitals defenseman, appearing in all 82 games with an average 22:38 per contest. His +21 rating ranked first among all rookie defensemen. With a pair of assists on Apr. 2 vs. Buffalo, Carlson matched a single-season franchise record for most points by a rookie defenseman (37), a mark shared by Robert Picard (1977-78) and Greg Theberge (1981-82).
P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens
With the Montreal blueline decimated by injuries, Subban's all-rookie performance was crucial to the Canadiens' success in 2010-11. He led all Canadiens defensemen in scoring with 38 points (14 goals, 24 assists), including a team-leading nine power-play goals. Subban led the Canadiens in ice time in January (23:50), was tops in scoring in February (T-nine) and first in goals in March (T-five), including a hat trick at Minnesota Mar. 20 -- the first three-goal game by a rookie defenseman in franchise history.

FORWARDS (in alphabetical order)
Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks
Couture was a key contributor in all areas on a Sharks team that captured its fourth consecutive Pacific Division title. The 22-year-old center ranked second on San Jose in goals (32), game-winning goals (eight) and plus-minus (+18); placed third in shots (253) and face-offs (888); fourth in power-play goals (10) and sixth in points (56). He led all rookies in game-winning goals, power-play goals, shots and face-offs, finished second in goals and points and was fifth in plus-minus. The Sharks' first-round pick in the 2007 Entry Draft tallied seven of his game-winning goals on the road, the most ever by an NHL rookie.

Michael Grabner, New York Islanders
Grabner didn't start the season with the Islanders, but ended it as the club's goals leader with 34, a total that also led NHL rookies. Claimed on waivers from Florida on Oct. 5, Grabner surged near the top of the rookie scoring race with a run of 16 goals in 15 games from Jan. 15 to Feb. 15, a period also highlighted by a first-place finish in the Fastest Skater event at the 2011 NHL SuperSkills. His six-game goal streak from Feb. 1-15 matched the longest by any player this season. The 23-year-old Villach, Austria native led all rookies in shorthanded goals (six), ranked second in shots (228) and seventh in plus-minus (+13).

Jeff Skinner, Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes reaped immediate dividends from their top pick in the 2010 Entry Draft as the 18-year-old Skinner, selected seventh overall last June, led all rookies in scoring as the League's youngest player. His performance over the first half of the season earned him a berth in the 2011 NHL All-Star Game, played in front of a hometown crowd in Raleigh. He went on to lead all rookies in points (63), rank second in assists (32) and third in goals (31). Skinner netted his 30th goal of the season Apr. 6 against Detroit, becoming the seventh-youngest player in NHL history to reach the milestone (18 years, 325 days).